Books!

with links to spark your curiosity, and a downloadable Discovery & Play Guide

As I move my archive of guides onto Substack, I’ll be sending out an additional Get Curious email once or twice a month. These themes have all been updated, so even if they’re familiar, hopefully everyone will find something new to spark their wonder.

Kraken book art by Justin Rowe.

I adore books. I love the way they feel in my hands, the way they smell, the fonts and the artwork. And of course I love the stories. From picture books to parenting books to Pulitzer-winning fiction, I can't get enough. Technology has changed so much about the way we consume things like music, movies, and the news, but it has yet to improve on the tangible magic of picture books (I’d argue all books). This guide celebrates books and stories, and invites you and your child to be both readers and authors, and to play with books in new ways.

I have some interesting links for you, plus a Books book list, but if you want to get straight to downloading the guide, scroll down and you’ll find it at the end of this email.

Quotable

“Books are a uniquely portable form of magic.” —Stephen King, On Writing

Interesting things to read, watch, or listen to.

To spark your wonder, here are some fun and/or interesting things I came across as I researched and created this month’s guide.

Audrey Hepburn. Photo by Mark Shaw (1953).

➵ Even if you don’t love children’s books as much as I do (what?!), may I recommend this New York Times book review? Or go ahead and read the entire book, it’s a treat. And it might remind you of the books that shaped your own childhood, and spark a new appreciation for them as an adult.

➵ When you want a book, you type in the title, click a button, and wait a whole two days for the Prime guy to show up. Or maybe you’ll roll into your local library and roll out with as many books as you want for free. Come on! It’s the most ridiculously wonderful thing ever. In case you need a reminder of what an absolute gift this is, listen to this piece from NPR on The Pack Horse Librarians of Eastern Kentucky. And then read That Book Woman with your kids. And then express your gratitude for the availability and accessibility of books.

➵ I recently learned that Little Free Library boxes started right here in Wisconsin, which makes me happy even though I’m not originally from here and also I don’t even have a Little Free Library. But it’s such a cool idea and it originated in a place that I now call home and I think they’re lovely. Down the street from us, there’s a Victorian house painted turquoise with mustard yellow trim and they have a little free library in the front yard that is identical in miniature. I don’t know what books are in there, but it’s darn cute. If you’re an English major or a snob or both, you might find this piece from McSweeney’s about Little Free Libraries hilarious.

letterpress poster by Amos Paul Kennedy, Syracuse University Art Museum

➵ Do we need to talk about why banning books is a bad idea? Read Literary Greats on Censorship from The Marginalian. This was my favorite:

“Censorship is the tool of those who have the need to hide actualities from themselves and from others. Their fear is only their inability to face what is real. . . Somewhere, in their upbringing, they were shielded against the total facts of our existence. They were only taught to look one way when many ways exist.” —Charles Bukowski

➵ Did you see that rad book sculpture up top? Artist Justin Rowe has lots more on his website. I also found this derailed train by Thomas Wightman (he has a few others in his portfolio including a “Back to Hogwarts” piece) and this mega catalog of book sculptures on Bored Panda. Enjoy!

➵ I linked to this film in the Discovery & Play Guide, but I loved it so much I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It started as a book by William Joyce, and then came to life in this award-winning animated short. You can also listen to Joyce talking about the story in the first couple minutes of this interview.

A lector reads to a worker in the Piedra Cigar factory in Maianao, Cuba (1960)

Quotable

“Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.” —Kate DiCamillo

9 books about books to read with your kids.

Books about books! It’s so meta! There are silly books about books, serious books about books, inspiring and magical books about books, and also a book about fighting over books. Dig in and find your favorite.

1. How This Book Was Made by Mac Barnett

2. Give Me Back My Book! by Travis Foster

3. A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley

4. That Book Woman by Heather Henson

5. The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers

6. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

7. A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen

8. Dreamers by Yuyi Morales

9. This Is A Story by John Schu

I’ve linked to Amazon for the sake of convenience, but I love AbeBooks, ThriftBooks, and eBay for finding used copies of books. And of course nothing beats your local public library.

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Of course there are whimsical open-book benches in Paris, like I need another reason to want to go back. Square Gabriel-Pierné. Photo credit: Donatella Migliaccio

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Books Guide

The Books Discovery & Play Guide is full of poems, videos, songs, games, and simple activities - you’ll discover entirely new ways to enjoy books with your children, and nothing requires much in the way of materials or preparation. The guide is a PDF, so you can print it out if you prefer to go analog, but the formatting is intended to make it easy to use on your mobile device.